No, our men in uniform haven’t suddenly developed telepathic ability. They have just received the much-needed infrastructure and technology boost.

A control room, dedicated solely to traffic-related problems, made its debut in state capital Ranchi to offer commuters the privilege of knowing which roads they should take to reach their destinations in minimal time. Also, responsible citizens can share information on jams with others through this facility.

A tech-savvy constable has been entrusted with the job of manning the control room on the premises of Lalpur traffic thana near Line Tank Road in the heart of the city. The centre is equipped with a landline (0651-2214024) and can be accessed through the mobile number 9931606100, besides wireless. Traffic control will be on air from 9am to 10pm every day.

Besides learning about real-time traffic situations, motorists can collect information about parking violations and where the fine needs to be deposited if a vehicle gets a sticker. The control room is also supposed to take a roll call of constables at all the 75 traffic posts across the capital via wireless.

Two motorcycle squads and two cranes have been put under the direct control of this exclusive snarl-buster facility. The focus is on the arteries stretching from the SSP’s residence to the Big Baazar outlet and Radium Road to Kantatoli Chowk, which are notorious for bottlenecks.

Ranchi’s SP (traffic) Rajeev Ranjan Singh said that the dedicated control room had made monitoring traffic much easier from Day One.

“On the very first day, the facility helped us identify six traffic constables who did not reach their posts on time. It gave me an opportunity to talk to them and know the reason why, and take measures to ensure their punctuality the next day,” Singh said.

He added that the control room had helped form a seamless network between all the 375 traffic constables and 40 officers who would, henceforth, be able to tackle emergencies without delay.

Gulam Sarwar, the constable on duty at the control room, was equally upbeat.

“My first caller was one Amit Kumar. He told me there was congestion near Durga Mandir on Ratu Road. I alerted a motorcycle squad. Again, around 1.30pm, I received information on an accident near Jaipal Singh Stadium. A girl had fallen off her scooter on the waterlogged road and thus disrupted traffic,” he said, hoping that some day Ranchi would be a city free of snarls.